BATON ROUGE- U.S. Sen. John Kennedy is urging Gov. John Bel Edwards to fly the flags at state buildings at half-staff Friday to honor the late Rev. Billy Graham.

So great was Graham's influence that he lied in honor this week at the U.S. Capitol, Kennedy said in a release. He was one of only four private citizens given the honor, the last was civil rights leader Rosa Parks, according to the release.

"I make this request not because the Rev. Graham was a man of faith, although he was a man of tremendous faith. Rather, I make this request because the Rev. Graham was America’s conscience for generations of Americans and citizens of the world," said Kennedy. "He broadened religious freedom across the globe, encouraged the integration of Little Rock Central High School and upheld America as a bastion of peace and democracy. He was this nation’s greatest, unpaid ambassador."